Exactly! You are going to age no matter what you do, so you might as well do what you want to do in life and enjoy it. Never let anyone tell you what you can do. Gopher it girl!
I'm 37 and I hope to be applying by 39. @ShyRem , what advice can you give fore my journey. I have an MS (3.4) dual BS (gpa 2.89) and my sciences are over 10 years old. Looking at starting over prereqs this summer. How did you get your letters of rec, did you volunteer, shadow, etc? Thanks
I'm 36, married with 3 kids (19, 11, and6) and currently a paramedic/RN. I'll be applying next summer. I can't wait to get the MCAT out of the way this year! Sent from my SM-G930R7 using SDN mobile
25-27 while doing a formal post bacc 29 during 1st application cycle 31 currently, reapplicant in 2nd cycle--and on 2 waitlists!
I'm 33, married for 10 years with two kids 9 and 3. I plan to apply in two years and matriculate when I am 36.
Bring snacks and do jumping jacks during the breaks --or whatever will keep you as relaxed as is possible during that marathon of a test. You can do it!
I ran a trail marathon once. In the mud. Hopefully that was good practice for MCAT endurance. haha thanks for the good wishes! It'll be nice to have it over with, but with all our technology, can we not get our MCAT scores back sooner than 30 days out??
Turning 28 in a couple weeks. Have my eyes on matriculating 2019! If all goes well... Sent from my SM-G935V using SDN mobile
I am going to gather up my courage and make my first post here. I am 39 years old with a BS in Accounting from UT Dallas (3.74 GPA), Masters in Theology from an institution out of country. I am currently enrolled for a Chemistry class for next semester. Hoping to get all my prereqs and apply in 2-3 years.
I can tell you right now that with your unique background and some demonstrated pre-req/MCAT success, there's a medical school out there that will feel lucky to have you. Welcome to the non-trad fold!
Hey. I am in a mid 40s and will start from this fall. Be positive and do volunteer and shadow in one or two charity clinics and get awesome letters. You can get a letter from a non-healthcare professionals as long as they know you well such as your job supervisors. Research is good but demands too much to have a good letter. I would rather stay with healthcare experience. For volunteer, usually there are minimum hours like 100 or 200 hours in order to get letters. Shadowing is a "must" in my opinion. Also some people receive a strong letter from volunteer directors. Some schools request letters from Science professors. For this I took two classes from a community college. If you do this far, I am sure you will have enough strong letters. Best Wishes.
Congrats to everyone and good luck to others! 4th year Orthopedic surgery resident here! Contact here or PM with questions! Dr. Webb
Thanks for the welcome! I hope I can rearrange and reschedule everything to get my pre-reqs and volunteering etc. done in time. I do have a lot of volunteering experience, but none in the medical realm. Also most of the volunteering experiences are non formal. Hoping to learn a lot from all of you non-trad folk around here.
I'm 33 and applying next week. I'm hoping to be starting MS1 next summer, around the time I turn 35 (my birthday is in mid-August, so classes may or may not have started yet, depending on the school).
I'll be starting med school in August at 30. I'm single and moving to a city where I know only *one* person, but excited after years of hard work and hoping!
I'm 26, just got accepted to a post bacc program. Hopefully I'll start med school at 28. The problem is my parents (very traditional) are pressuring me to start a family of my own very soon. They don't understand how I still don't have kids at 26. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of situation before? It is very frustrating when you're trying to achieve so much and actually doing a very good job, but your family says "yes, it's nice but...your biological clock is ticking. What are you going to about it?"
Many of my physician friends, both male and female, found their love in their medical schools, especially in their residency. Best Wishes,
So my parents weren't pressuring me at all, but I was sort of pressuring myself. I matriculated at 28 and was actually engaged at the time but not sure if it was such a great idea to actually get married. Part of the reason why I went through with it was because I felt panicky about the idea of not having time to meet anyone else because of medicine. Long story short I ended up getting pregnant during school and then getting a divorce, leading to me becoming a single mom in my third year of medical school. I wouldn't trade my kiddo for the world so I can't say I wouldn't go back and do it all over again, but for sure it was a dumb idea to feel pressured. I know plenty of people, both traditional and non-traditional, who met someone during medical school or residency who they ended up marrying and starting a family with. If all else fails you can tell your parents that you're really going to medical school to go husband shopping.
I'm almost 26. Applying next year. Will turn 28 first month of medical school. My brother went to medical school at 26. Finished EM residency at 33. My dad went to medical school at 38 with a full time working wife and 3 kids. Finished FM residency at 45. He will be 68 this year. Loves his job. Was able to pay off his loans, provide everything we needed as kids, and is in a good place financially. Has no regrets and has always recommended medicine as a career when I've asked him about it. It's never too late!!!!
It is very encouraging to hear about your Dad's story and the stories of your family in general. I hear a lot of discouragement on student doctor and glad to see older non-trads enjoying the career switch.
This post is relatively old, but I’m interested in knowing what everyone in here have achieved and what specialties they went with, since most comments are 10+ years old! By the way I will (hopefully) be in my mid 24 when I start med school.
Just turned 27! I have 2 more years of pre-reqs, and looking at 30/31 by the time I apply and get accepted (hopefully)!
Gonna be 34 when classes start next fall. Personally I’m thankful this is all happening now that I’ve grown up a bit!
Because I had the time and was curious myself, I scrolled through the entire thread. 55 y/o MS1 wins, with two 52 y/o MS1s taking second. A couple of people reported beginning their pre-reqs in their 50s, but no confirmation that anyone matriculated after age 55. Check page 26 for the story.
Update: Still here! 57 years old now, MS3! One year away from real legit MD, repping for my nontrads . If there's anything else you could do and be happy, run lol. Seriously though, I feel so honored and privileged to get to be doing this. Still! No place I'd rather be!
